District going fully remote
The South Lyon Community Schools District will be going fully virtual due to the surge in COVID-19 cases statewide and across southeast Michigan.
On Thursday, Superintendent Steve Archibald sent a letter to parents about district administrators planning to make a recommendation to the board of education about going to fully virtual instruction beginning Thursday, Nov. 18 and lasting through “at least” Jan. 8 due to the surge in coronavirus cases and community spread of the virus.
The board of education will consider the recommendation at its meeting on Monday.
Since mid- October, Archibald said the district has reported 22 school-associated positive cases, adding “the number of cases within the Oakland County portion of our district boundaries have increased significantly during this same time period.”
In the letter, Archilbald said requiring groups of students to quarantine who have been exposed to the virus has “severely compromised” the district’s ability to provide a “predictable and stable in-person plan for students, parents, and teachers.”
“Despite our best efforts over the past several weeks to maintain a viable in-person learning program, we have reached a point where it no longer proves to be the best instructional choice for our students,” he wrote in the letter.
The letter read in part: Dear SLCS Families and Staff,
As you are likely aware, Covid+ cases continue to rise significantly with each passing day across our state, county, and district. As an example, in Oakland County, the number of cases for school aged individuals has been trending upward over the past several weeks. The Risk Level determination for Oakland County which is based on multiple metrics is currently at the highest risk level ( E). “School associated” means a case of probable or confirmed COVID-19 amongst students, teachers, staff members, coaches, volunteers, or any other person who was present on school property or at a school function under circumstances that may result in the transmission or contraction of COVID-19 during their infectious period.
It has been reported that there is very little transmission in schools, and we believe the mitigation measures and safety protocols being followed in our schools has been effective to help minimize the spread within our classrooms. Unfortunately, the continued community spread has impacted our district causing significant disruptions. Since mid October, it has been necessary to move two schools and eight individual classrooms to remote instruction across the district for an extended period of time due to staff and students being quarantined.
For these reasons, the Central Office administration will be recommending to the Board of Education on Monday, November 16, 2020 that South Lyon Community Schools move to fully remote instruction for all students effective Thursday, November 19 through at least January 8, 2020. Wednesday, November 18 will be a workday for teachers to prepare for the shift back to fully remote instruction. We will continue to follow guidance from the MHSAA with respect to athletics. The VLP program schedule is not being impacted.
During the week of January 4th, we will assess our situation using the MI Safe Start Plan, OCHD Risk Level, and local health data to inform our decision whether to return to the mode of in-person instruction currently being used or extend the period of remote instruction. We will keep families and staff members informed so they can plan accordingly